Hertel says the race shouldn't be too much of a bother, because it would only appear once a year. The Championship Auto Racing Teams contract for Belle Isle runs out this year, and the event is in danger of leaving the state unless the island is fixed up more for the race.
Attorney's for ICARE, the group formed around the fairgrounds in opposition against car racing there, and other plaintiffs have already won a ruling from Wayne County Circuit judge, who says Detroit zoning law applies to the fairgrounds and prohibits auto racing.They believe this ruling also prevents a Grand Prix race.
"The proposal to build a $1-million, one-time-only-use track for the Grand Prix is a foot-in-the-door attempt to sneak auto racing into the Fairgrounds," ICARE co-chair David Welsh tells GlobeSt.com. "Running true to form, this proposal was made without any consultation with the surrounding communities.
"If Belle Isle is not a suitable venue for racing after all the city's efforts to meet CART's requirements, neither is the Fairgrounds. How much money would the taxpayers have to pony up to get the Fairgrounds ready for racing and whose pocket would it end up in this time?" Welsh adds.
Hertel was instrumental in putting together the deal for the fairground lease and for the purchase by Joe Nederlander of the adjoining state land at Eight Mile and Woodward.Nederlander, who began leasing and operating the Michigan State Fairgrounds in October, is selling 35 acres of neighboring retail land in Detroit to the school district. However, the transfer is on hold by the state, which is investigating the sale.
The Detroit Public Schools wants to buy the land at the corner of Eight Mile Road and Woodward Avenue for $17 million, and plan to construct a new high school on 24 acres. The rest of the land will be sold to Home Depot for $9.5 million for store construction, said district officials.
Nederlander bought the 35 acres of land for $6.1 million from the state as part of the lease of the fairgrounds. He says he sold it to a real estate investment trust for $10.5 million after local residents and four cities, including Detroit, Ferndale, Pleasant Ridge and Huntington Woods, filed a lawsuit to prevent the construction of a Grand Prix racetrack at the fairgrounds.
Nederlander wants to build a track and an amphitheater on his new leased property. He said he wanted to build a large hotel on the 35 acres of adjacent land. The hotel idea died when the lawsuit dragged on, he adds.
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